OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 1,193,556 Shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Free Report) by 84.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,612,786 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,193,556 shares during the quarter. Itaú Unibanco comprises approximately 1.0% of OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Itaú Unibanco were worth $12,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,389,460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $140,812,000 after buying an additional 489,873 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. Haven Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,284,000. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 5,310.8% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 783,968 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,888,000 after acquiring an additional 769,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,658,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $196,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,014 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,924,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,760,858. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.76. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a one year low of $4.42 and a one year high of $6.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.32.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.0024 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.46%. Itaú Unibanco's dividend payout ratio is 2.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Profile

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services.